William h



(No Model.)

. W. H. LEWIS.

FOLDING TOP FOR GAMERA STANDS.

Patented Apr. 26, 1887.

I ((lllllllm) v WITNESS ATTORNEYS.

N PETERS. Pimlohlhngmphcn Wnhinglnn. D. C.

' UNITED, STATES PATENT OFFICE.

XVILLIAM H. LEWVIS,

OF BROOKLYN, ASSIGNOR TO E. & H. T. ANTHONY &

(30., OF'NEW YORK, N. Y.

FOLDING TOP FOR CAMERA-STANDS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 361,826, dated April26, 1887.

Application filed February 7, 1887. Serial No. 226,778. (No model.) I

To aZ Z whom it may concern:

Be 1t known that I, 'WILLIAM H. LEWIS, of the city of Brooklyn, in thecounty of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and ImprovedFolding Top for Camera- Stands, of which the following is a full, clear,and exact description.

This invention relates to the tops of stands or trlpods for photographiccameras and for other objects or purposes, which tops, when not 1n usefor carrying the camera, 850., are capable of being folded, so as tooccupy less space or compass, to facilitate transportation and packingaway.

The invention consists in a folding camerastand top of novelconstruction, whereby it may not only be folded into a vertical positionand be made to occupy a very contracted space when folded, but wherebygreat strength and stability are secured and every convenience affordedfor attaching and detaching the camera and legs of the tripod or stand,substantially as hereinafter described.

Reference isto be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, lll'WhlOh similar letters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 represents a plan View of my improved folding top when extendedas for use and showing the legs of the stand in part attached. Fig. 2 isan elevation of the same, also showing by dottedlines the position thatthe folding top assumes when detached from the legs of the stand andfolded, and Fig. 3 is a partly sectional elevation showing a modifiedconstruction of the folding top.

A A are the folding arms or wings of the camerastand top, upon the upperedges of whlch, when extended, the camera rests. These arms or wings aremade of flat bars hinged or pivoted at their inner ends horizontally, soas to independently swing vertically, their pivots 0 passing throughthem and through supports d, bent or shaped to space the arms at equaldistances apart, as required, and to form the fixed portions of thehinged joints. Said supports d, when the pivots c are riveted or securedin place, also serve as braces to the arms A A. These supports d arearranged around a central tube, 6, which in Figs. 1 and 2 projectsupward from a central disk or plate, f, that, when the arms A A arethrown into a horizontal position, serves to support and keep them insuch position; but, as shown in Fig. 3, this plate f might be dispensedwith and the inner ends of the arms A A made square or straight to bearagainst the sides of the tube 6 to similarly hold said arms in positionwhen extended. The tube e also serves to carry or form a bearing for thethumb-screw B, which is arranged to pass upward from beneath formanipulation from below, and is provided with a screw-thread, g, at itstop, that projects above the tube 6 and arms A A when down, to providefor its being screwed into or out of the bottom of the camera, orscrew-threaded box therein, for the purpose of centering and attachingor detaching the camera to or from the top, as required.

The outer ends of the armsA A are bent or flared to form wings h h,which are provided with the usual pins,i i, for the legs 0 G of thecamerastand to engage with when fitting said legs to the stand-top, andafterward binding or locking them at their properstretch by the ordinaryor any suitable means.

To give increased strength and stability to the pivoted or folding armsA A, I construct each arm of two independent strips parallel with eachother and at a suitable distance apart throughout their straightportions, bending their outer ends to form the wings h h and interposingbetween their straight portions blocks or washers is k, which areriveted to their places. This construction not onlygives increasedstrength to the arms, but also a large bearing or supporting surfacethereto.

The folding top, when not in use and when detached from the legs of thestand and from the camera, may be folded into an exceedingly compactspace and into a most convenient shape or form of package for carriagein the pocket'or elsewhere, the legs A A then being turned up into anapproximately vertical position around the axial line of the top andscrew B, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. A folding top for camera and other like stands, having a series ofmore than two radial arms hinged or pivoted at or near their inner ends,and all adapted to fold and close upward about or around the axial lineof the top into approximately parallel relation with said axial line,and to unfold into a horizontal position, substantially as specified.

2. In a folding top for camera and other like stands, the combination,with the hinged or pivoted arms adapted to fold upward about or aroundthe axial line of the top, and to unfold into a horizontal position, ofthe central tube, 6, and the cameraholding screw B, essentially asdescribed.

3. In a camera tripod or stand, the combination, with the fixed orcentral portion of the top, of the folding arms arranged to work onhorizontal pivots to fold upward, and When let down provided with a restto support them in horizontal position, the outer ends of said armsbeing constructed to form flaring wings for attachment and detachment ofthe legs of the stand, substantially as specified.

4, In afolding top for camera and other like stands,the combination,with the verticallyfolding arms, of the supports and braces d and thepivots c, essentially as described.

5. The combination, with the verticallyfolding arms of the top of thestand, having outer flaring wings h h, of the plate f, the tubularbearing e, and the screw B, substantially as specified.

6. In a folding top for camera and other like stands, thevertically-folding arms A A, constructed of spaced double bars havingflaring Wings h h, adapted to provide for the attachment and detachmentof the legs of the stand, in combination with the spacing blocks orpieces h, the supports and braces d, and the pivots c, essentially asdescribed.

WILLIAM H. LEWIS.

